That is how you salvage a weekend. According to Motorsport.com Italia, Alex Márquez fought through severe physical pain and a crash in the Saturday Sprint to secure a brilliant third place in the Malaysian Grand Prix, starting from pole position and finishing behind his brother Marc Márquez and Pedro Acosta.
The Gresini Racing machine was wrestled around the circuit brilliantly, but the bigger story broke immediately after the chequered flag. The Spaniard didn't just collect silverware; he actively shaped the championship battle by forcefully retaking a position from Marco Bezzecchi on the tenth lap after Bezzecchi had slipped past. That decisive move pushed Bezzecchi back, who ultimately faded to finish sixth, keeping vital ground cleared for Marc's title aspirations.
"I tried to do my best, at the beginning I wanted to save energy like Marc, it was a question of tyres and physical condition," Alex explained. "Yesterday the crash happened in a spot that creates difficulties for me and I didn't want to make the same mistake. I knew that starting from the eighth or tenth lap the riding position is no longer the same, you lose a bit of control and two days from the end I almost crashed pushing to the maximum because Ogura was arriving."
Despite the physical toll—admitting that a late charge from Ogura almost caused another crash—he held on for the podium. "But that's fine, I'm very happy to be on the podium and to have finished the race. And very happy to have helped Marc, finding myself between him and Bezzecchi. But above all, the objective was achieved by getting on the podium. In Qatar, however, Marc will have to fend for himself."
Here is the twist: Alex is immediately flying back to Spain to undergo surgery on Monday morning at Ruber Internacional with Dr. Antuña to fix his right collarbone, meaning he will skip the upcoming race in Qatar. The emergency operation in Barcelona previously fixed a clavicle fractured in four parts on a shoulder originally operated on in 2013 that kept dislocating following a heavy impact at Montmeló. With the plate being removed and an arthroscopy scheduled to treat bursitis, waiting any longer was simply not an option.
"It's like this, I couldn't have managed three races in a row; I had already considered doing it after Indonesia, skipping Australia and coming back. But there were too many flights to take, it exposed me to the risk of an infection. It's better to skip Qatar and fly to Portimão, which is a shorter journey," he stated.
The target is now a return at Portimão, though he admits the recovery will dictate the timeline. "I hope to be able to return to Portimão, this is the objective and the timescales indicated by the doctor. This is the plan, but if I were to skip the race in Portimão, it's not what I want but it can happen. I want to stop, recover and manage to be in shape for the last two races. At home I can't train for strength and I have everything a bit atrophied."
MotoGP
MotoGP
